27 April 2009

The BC Liberal Party's election campaign was facing more distractions Saturday. This time a well known Liberal politician is being questioned over a controversial poster that was released by his supporters.

The poster indicates that supporters of Kootenay East Liberal candidate Bill Bennett are offering free beer to anyone who comes to a meeting at a local pub."We are trying to engage young people,'' he explained. "You have to go where young people are."

Bennett has removed the posters for now, and says he has asked that no free alcohol be served.

He probably would have been handing out Coor's Light, so no big loss.-Brain

"THE DEVIL MADE ME BREW IT!" proclaims the tagline on the back of this novelty brew from Toronto's Great Lakes Brewery. This beer is apparently brewed with 666 kilograms of malt, 6.66 kilograms of hops, is boiled for 66.6 minutes and has a 6% abv. I recall trying this brew at Toronto's Festival of Beer after having been drawn to its Satanic imagery like a moth to a flame. Unfortunately, having already tried several dozen other beers I cannot recall what it tasted like. After spying the prominent 666 on the label at the local LCBO, I decided to pick one up for a formal review.

Both Burke and Erik had strong reservations about drinking this one. I popped the can and immediately noticed that describing the can's contents as pale would somewhat misleading, if not an outright lie. The brew is reminiscent of very dark porter with a thick head. Erik at this point wasn't sure if he wanted to drink it, but Burke (easily influenced by the evil in the can) declared we were all going to drink it. Burke and I raised our glasses and took a long pull. My palate was immediately assaulted by the strong, malty flavour which led to a pronounced bitterness in the finish. Burke stated that while he wouldn't think he would drink more than one or two of them, the flavour really wasn't worthy of the number of the beast. In fact, we further decided that the beer deserved to have been attributed to Purgatory rather than Old Scratch himself. Erik stated that it "tasted like crap" but that he had worse. Apparently, this one is more a novelty or something that might be popular with goths and metalheads rather than something that will find its way back into my fridge.

25 April 2009

This one comes from our good friends at the Scotch-Irish Brewing Company in Lanark Ontario, brewers of such fine products as John By Imperial Stout and the horrific Corporal's Bitter Brown Ale. This particular brew is described as a flavourful light, refreshing ale brewed in the style of ordinary bitter. The label also has a rendition of Stuart, the Scottie dog this beer is named after. It is a mild amber colour with a decent head and no discernible odour.

Erik, Burke and I poured out three glasses and passed them around. While hesitant after my prior experience with the Corporal, I thought Scotch-Irish Brewing deserved another chance after finding John By to be a drinkable stout. Burke drank first and noted that although bitter, it was a smooth bitter that went down good. Erik also stated it was good and both agreed they could drink six of them with pleasure. I found the beer to be very similar to many English ales I have tried, with slightly more bitterness than most and was much more easy-drinking than even the John By Imperial Stout. After this experience, I look forward to sampling other products from Scotch-Irish Brewing.

In other news, I'd like to announce Liquor Pig's upcoming road trip to Michigan to hopefully find the absolute worst beer the Motor State has to offer. LIQUOR PIG NEEDS YOUR HELP!!! Please send us suggestions for both horrible liquor and local oddities we can poison our livers with while south of the border. We look forward to hearing from you!

24 April 2009

This isn't a review, although if anybody would like to send us some to try, we would willingly accept it with open arms. That's a given with anything though, barring shoe polish, Aquavelva and Labbat's Blue.

Here at Liquor Pig, we are of two minds about Beck's, I am fond of it due to the fact that I cut my teeth on stealing Beck's from my father during my teen years. I find as grown man, I crave what I used to choke down.

While our humble blog's creator did not grow up with Beck's and likens it's taste to the urine that's filling the troughs of any Oktoberfest celebration. To each his own but he's totally wrong about Beck's.

We are in agreement however, that neither of us would be caught dead drinking fricking Hello Kitty Beer at any place but the privacy of our own basements.

I wonder if Beck's plans a macho male equiviliant to this, like one that uses Ultra-Man or that cool guy from Star Blazers. You know, the guy with the G-Force hair...

21 April 2009

This peculiarity was suggested by a co-worker who apparently disagrees with most of the ale reviewed on this site. Seriously, this guy actually LIKES Corporal's Bitter Brown Ale, so obviously any suggestions from him are automatic candidates for review! After listening to him rant about how great this beer is, I tracked down a bottle at a Scarborough LCBO and headed over to my cousin's for a tasting.

Anchor Brewing Company's Liberty Ale is made in San Fransisco, California and has an abv of 5.9%. Apparently, this brew was first made on 18 April 1975 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Paul Revere's historic ride. Noted as being "almost completely handmade", it is created from the "finest barley malt, fresh whole hops, top-fermenting yeast [and] pure water" using "simple natural methods." Furthermore, Liberty Ale is "dry-hopped" and "completes its fermentation in seald vats" which apparently creates Liberty Ale's "distinctive boquet" and "delicate fermentation." The lable portrays the Liberty Eagle and an anchor (perhaps a homage to San Fransico's famous waterfront.

We popped it open and poured out a couple glasses. It was a mid-dark colour, respective of other ales of this nature and was quite effervescent. However, one taste of this one proved it to be another over-hopped disaster. Upon tasting, Amanda exclaimed "ew!" and stated that it tasted like "old lady's perfume." Apparently, the "distinctive boquet" of the "dry-hopping" is an acquired taste. I tipped my glass back and found the musty, overhopped flavour to be quite unpleasant and overpowering, but I managed to finish my glass. Rob however, initially exclaimed "oh man, this is bad!" and petitioned to sink it. After a bit of prodding (along with insults about his manhood from both me and Amanda), he finished the sample with a solemn "shit's gross, man." We universally agreed this one ranks in the KEIF! file and should never be purchased again... unless you want to keep a bottle handy to make unwelcome guests suffer through their overstayed welcome.

11 April 2009

My apologies for the lack of updates. There have been several reasons for this. First of all, the local LCBO's well of strange brew has kind of run dry, leaving me to have to expand my search for potential review candidates. Remember, we are always open for suggestions! If any Ontario readers come across a good candidate for this blog, email me with the deatails and I will attempt to obtain it for review. As for today's entry, I just returned from a week in New York City, where I discovered an absolute must for any fan of bars, beer or this blog: A New York institution in Manhattan's East Village known as McSorley's Old Ale House.

"Be good or be gone" is the motto at the oldest bar in New York; a throwback to days when your local served beer brewed on premesis and women were barred from entering. In fact, it was only in 1970 when civil rights attorneys Faith Seidenberg and Karen DeCrow won a Supreme Court case against McSorley's to be allowed entry. The oldest continually operating saloon in New York has served everyone from Abe Lincoln to John Lennon in it's 150 years of history.

Stepping inside McSorley's is like taking a trip back in time. From the sawdust strewn floors to the burning coal scuttle, this bar is literally soaked in history. The ancient tables are worn down from years of use and the walls are covered in pictures, historical documents and other memorabilia marking milestones in it's history. It truly is a sight to behold. Once you have taken in the history of the place, step up to the bar and order some ale. Just don't expect to find Budweiser or fancy European imports. McSorleys serves only two kinds of ale: McSorley's Light and McSorley's Dark, and will cost you $4.50 for two mugs of either.

Now, it could be said that a storied watering hole like this could make a good living off fleecing tourists by selling overpriced beer while riding the coattails of its reputation. Fortunately, this is not the case at McSorley's. The ale is not only cheap, it is quite good as well. Having tried both during the two nights I spent there (yes, I liked it that much!), I can say that I personally preferred the dark. However, that is only from a personal standpoint as both were definately drinkable. Keep in mind that McSorley's can get very busy, especially on a weekend. This may result in you being "relocated" to another table to accomodate the ever-growing crowd of patrons. This is nothing to be worried about however. Everyone I met follows the McSorley's motto and tend to be very welcoming. I ended up sitting with many different people during my time there, including a couple fellow Canadians from Montreal! So if you ever find yourself in New York, head over to McSorley's for a couple mugs of ale. You'll be glad you did!